Masked Phantom
by Queen of the Beasts
Summary: After being in sleep for who knows how long, John Reid has finally woken up and struggles to adapt to the Avengers, the 21st century and its surroundings. Not to mention the coming threat that even he is not prepared for.
1. Weary of the Railway

1. Weary of the Railway

_In eighteen hundred and forty-two_

_I didn't know what I should do_

_I didn't know what I should do_

_To work upon the railway, the railway_

_I'm __**weary of the railway**_

_Poor Paddy works on the railway_

New York City was probably one of the noisiest places you've ever been to. It seemed that the city never sleeps. Lights flashed everywhere, casinos and businesses were buzzing, and people were partying, hanging out, or doing their jobs. It was one of the few major cities in the world that attracts so many people who wanted to start a new life, especially young adults and teenagers. But when there were a lot of businesses, people, and activity all in a huge area, there was a drawback. Crime was very popular in the city, even with all the police and high-tech security around.

It was evening by the time they decided to head back to Stark Towers, even though it was now known as the Avengers Tower. Tony chatted continually, and Bruce was paying more attention to him than Pepper would have. Surprisingly, Tony was the first to notice that a street was blocked off by a series of signs and officers.

The building before them was not tall enough to be a skyscraper but certainly more modern than the tower itself. There was about thirty-two floors marked off with thick lines between the rows and columns of glass windows. There was now a gaping hole around one of the upper floors where several windows had been shattered and were now lying on the street in a pile of shards.

"What's going on?" Bruce wondered when he stopped.

"Let's go check it out," Tony suggested.

"That's none of our business," Pepper said.

"Perhaps it is." Bruce's dark eyes narrowed. "Look."

He pointed at one of the men standing closest to them across the divide. The familiar insignia on the left breast of his uniform stood out as he was a member of SHIELD. They exchanged a look and approached. The person noticed them and whispered to the man next to him that was wearing a black trench coat. He turned around to reveal none other than the director Nick Fury, though he was wearing shades for some reason.

Tony slipped under the police tape as they regarded each other. "What's going on here?" he asked.

"You tell me." Nick lead them directly underneath the damaged bridge. "The workers and everyone else claimed that some dragon broke into a tech industry, stole some highly advanced equipment, and then disappeared."

Tony gaped at him. "Dragon?"

"It was the best estimation we got," Nick explained.

Pepper frowned. "What makes them think that?"

"It jumped from the rooftop and flew southwest from here. Unfortunately people didn't get a good look at it, but it wasn't hard to miss."

"So, what? We're dealing with maybe a mutant that looks like a dragon?" Bruce guessed.

"All I know so far is that it was something with skin that can't be penetrated. And from an angle it didn't look like any dragon I've seen. To me, it looked like that freak from hell in that Godzilla movie."

"Hey!" Tony barked.

"I thought you said you didn't get a good look at it," Pepper said as she folded her arms under her breasts.

"Not this time," Nick replied, "but I bet it's the same one that broke into Prison 42 last night, though I have no idea what for. Maybe you want to help us find it before it heads for something else that's important?"

Bruce frowned. "Prison 42?"

"Our top secret prison," Nick explained.

Another SHIELD agent came up and whispered something in Nick's ear. The director excused himself to go investigate.

"Do you think this is Loki's work?" Bruce asked

"Oh, come on, Loki doesn't know _what_ he was doing with his arrogance," Tony retorted. "He probably won't even know that until we catch up."

"What if you could?" Pepper asked.

Tony glanced at her. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if Loki is behind this, there must be a connection between the two," Pepper pointed out.

"The only way he would do that is if he had his staff, which he does not," Tony deadpanned.

Bruce's cellphone vibrated in his pant pocket. He fished it out and found a text. His eyes darkened again. "Maybe so," he said. "But Clint and Natasha both spotted it in the Sabine."

Tony stared at him. "And that's where?"

"Texas."

Tony sighed.

"You need to go," Pepper told him.

"I promised..."

Pepper stopped him with a quick kiss and pulled away. "You have homework."

Tony sighed. "I'll see you guys later."

"Guys?"

Tony and Pepper looked at Bruce.

"Count me in," Bruce said.

"Are you sure?" Pepper asked.

"Not exactly. But if we're dealing with something that might, might not breathe fire, then you're going to need all the help you can get."

* * *

In the forest of the Sabine in Texas, two of Fury's best assassins were climbing over the rocky edges on a hill to get closer to their target. Someone had recently reported the sighting of the mysterious beast and they had decided to go check it out.

"So, we're suppose to be looking for a dragon?" Clint asked.

"That's what I heard," Natasha said.

"Fury's gotten mythical for a change," Clint joked.

"It's not funny," Natasha hissed.

Clint laughed quietly as they continued on. Their hands were becoming cracked and bloody from the chalky surface of the rocks.

The ground suddenly shook.

_Thump._

Natasha gasped, causing herself to crouch even lower.

_Thump._

Clint crouched lower and continued to crawl. "I'm calling backup," he whispered.

_Thump._

Natasha swallowed, her hands gripping tightly to the rocks.

_Thump._

The footsteps stopped for a moment. Both assassins froze when they looked up.

The creature's body was black and red. The shape of its head was loosely familiar to a birds, and it had triangular jaws. It also had two pairs of forelimbs that were modified into its wings. It had red eyes and two hind legs with a long tail. Small spikes traveled down its back.

"Uh oh," Clint said.

The creature roared, forcing them backwards and down. It soared towards them, its talons ready to grab. Natasha fired at it as Clint got up and aimed an arrow and fired. It struck the creature in the neck.

"_Scree-EEK!_"

Both assassins cried out and covered their ears as the creature pinned them to the ground with its slender talons. It was ready to devour them when something slammed into it, forcing it to go flying in the air and crash nearby. A hammer came flying and into the hand of a familiar person.

"Thor, what gives?" Clint groaned.

"I detected foreign magic and had come to investigate," Thor told him.

Both agents got up and prepared to finish it off, but stopped when the sound of rockets forced their gaze upwards as the Iron Man was landing behind them. They were caught off guard when a sudden force smashed nearby. The Hulk stood up and shook himself off.

"Hulk here," he said.

Clint and Natasha gaped at him before looking at Tony.

"It was either him included or none of us," Tony explained from somewhere inside the helmet.

"What brings you here?" Natasha questioned.

"Nick and the rest of SHIELD were in the city," Tony answered, folding his arms, "claiming that thing was stealing highly advanced equipment and released someone from Prison 42."

"Ah! Why couldn't it steal from the Attica Correctional Facility?" Clint asked.

"Good question," Tony stated. "I was hoping maybe you two would know."

"Less talking, more smashing," Hulk said, slamming his right fist into the left palm of his hand.

"I'm in," Clint piped up after a while.

"Okay," Thor interrupted, noticing the creature getting up. "Let's just get this over with."

The creature turned to them and let out the same warbled scream as before, but it was distant thanks to the Hulk. Tony primed his arsenal, the Hulk let out a roar and pounded his chest in fury, Clint readied an arrow, and Natasha clutched napalm grenades. It hissed at them, looking down in hatred.

"Hulk get," the Hulk said as he charged forward.

"Hulk, wait!" Natasha called out, but her words fell on deaf ears as the Hulk slammed into it again, grabbing onto the shoulder. The creature just used its winged forelimb to swat the Hulk off of it. The Hulk hit the dirt with a thud. A sudden blow to the jaw sent it staggering. Mjolnir flew back into Thor's hand. The creature reeled in pain as it felt its back being peppered with gunfire. It turned to see Tony hovering above it. With one leap, the animal flew into the air and began to chase him. He circled around the area to try and outwit the monster, but it was hot on his trail.

"How does something get that big?" Natasha asked.

"You wanna ask it?" Clint replied as he locked an arrow on his bow.

The beast felt a bolt of lightning singed its brow, causing it to scream once more. Clint shot several arrows into the air and pressed a button on his bow. The arrows exploded and completely confused their prey. The Hulk pulled on its back foot, causing it to trip. It hit the ground hard, causing the area to shake. Tony unleashed several rockets from his shoulder pads. Natasha lit its skin on fire with some of her grenades. The monster began to regain its senses and grabbed hold of the Hulk. Its red eyes glowed brightly before it tossed the Hulk aside. The green giant crashed into Thor and they went flying over the other side, slamming into a rock. The constant onslaught from the Avengers wasn't doing much harm to it. It was just making it angry.

Very angry.

With a guttural shriek, it lifted its forelimbs high into the air and slammed them into the ground. An enormous wave of energy shot from its claws and flew outwards. The HUD in Tony's helmets went off. "JARVIS?"

Screams of terror were emanating from him as he fell towards the Earth at an incredibly fast rate. With a loud smack, he made touchdown with the ground.

Tony ended up lying in deep ground when Clint bent over to look at him. "What happened?"

"I think I just fell out of the sky," Tony said. He staggered to his feet and turned around, seeing the monster coming their way. Clint clicked his bow several times but got none of his tech to reactivate.

"Tony, my weapons aren't working," he said. Tony raised his arm, but got the same result.

"Mine either," he said. "JARVIS, run a diagnostic." The usual snarky voice was nowhere to be heard. "JARVIS." Again, no response. "JARVIS?!"

Steve and Sam had just gotten the call before they could realize what they were up against.

"Whoa," Sam mused.

"That thing has got to be bigger than the Leviathans," Steve agreed. "But they need help."

"Got it!"

Sam activated the wings in his pack and zoomed in on it. Steve threw his shield with all of his might and it slammed into the beast's jaw. With a battle cry, Sam charged. He jumped on its head and took a swipe at it. It cried out in pain and frustration, shaking its head wildly. Sam went in for another blow. Natasha removed a grenade from belt and threw it at the creature's back. Unfortunately, it turned its body around, and the grenade detonated at the tip of one of Sam's wings. He screamed as he fell right onto Tony, causing Clint to laugh.

"Come on!" Tony shouted.

"_Scree-EEK."_

The chilling call echoed across the forest floor. They all turned to see the beast flying over the ocean, its black silhouette notable against the clouds. It shrank farther and farther until it disappeared completely. The entire Avengers team was exhausted beyond compare. They had put their all into that showdown. They had no corpse or anything to make their efforts not feel wasted.

However, there was one thing that _would_ change it all.

* * *

Thor was dizzy from the impact. He had to crawl for a boulder and lean against it in order to keep consciousness. He rubbed the back of his head to ease a little bit of the pain. He groaned a bot as he removed a small piece of rock from behind his head.

"That hurts," he remarked.

He looked up when he heard a groan. He watched as a half naked Bruce sat up, rubbing his left temple. "What happened?"

"That thing grabbed you and you both started to glow. Then it tossed you, causing you to crash into me. And I believe it is gone now."

Bruce shook his head before he noticed a chunk of rock near him. He picked it up and studied it. "What the heck?"

Thor bent over and studied it. "What kind of stone is this?"

"Not sure," Bruce said as he looked around before pulling a sack from one of the dead bushes. "But it's like nothing I've ever seen before. I'll have to take a sample and run some tests on it." Then he quickly disappeared in the brush.

"Okay," Thor said to himself. He looked at the place they crashed into, his dark brows suddenly creased into a frown. He got up and took a few strides towards it before he knelt down. He brushed the stones aside, trying to get a clear look. His eyes suddenly widened.

"Allfather, help us."

"What?" Bruce came out fully dressed before he looked down and his eyes, too, widened. "Oh, dear god," he breathed before running to get the others.

**So, what did you think? Good, bad? Needs some work? Eh, how the guy managed to stay in rock and stone for years in sleep is a mystery to me. But I based it off of what happened to Han Solo in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. I'm still working out the kinks and such here, so please help me out here. Okay, see you later.**

**Fun Fact #1: Prison 42 is a special prison in the Negative Zone, though designated as Negative Zone Prison Alpha and nicknamed Fantasy Island by the inmates. See? Homework!**

**Song in this chapter: Poor Paddy from Lone Ranger soundtrack.**


	2. Breath of Life

2. Breath of Life

_I was looking for the **breath of a life**_

_A little touch of a heavenly light_

_But all the choirs in my head sang, no oh oh oh_

_To get a dream of life again_

_A little vision of the sun in the end_

_But all the choirs in my head sang, no oh oh oh_

The man was fading in and out of consciousness as they all rushed back to the tower and up to the main floor. They placed him on the bed, removing the stetson, the boots, the necktie, the gloves, the jacket, the vest, and the holster and gun. The mask, however, they were hesitate to remove.

"I can't believe we have the Lone Ranger in the tower," Sam whispered.

"We can't know for sure," Natasha said.

Thor stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"How do we know he's not a clone or a trap?" Natasha pointed out.

"How do we know _you're_ not a clone or a trap?" Clint deadpanned.

Bruce came out with Tony behind him.

"Is it really him?" Steve breathed.

"No doubt," Bruce confirmed. "Except something about he stone the was trapped in was puzzling. I can't quite pinpoint it out, but it's really different."

"Looks like silver," Tony said, holding the stone in his hand.

"Are you wearing his jacket?" Natasha asked.

"Hey, I'm wearing Clint's pants," Tony said, spreading his arms out.

"I _knew_ they looked familiar!" Clint exclaimed.

"Yeah," Tony snickered.

"So, what was he doing in there?" Sam asked.

"The animal looked like it was gonna drag this down," Bruce spoke. "So, uh, Thor. You've been into these worlds many times before. Do you know what it was?"

"Not that I know of," Thor said.

"I wanna know how he got like that in the first place," Steve wondered. "Or managed to survive so long in it."

"Have you seen _Return of the Jedi_?" Tony questioned. "Han Solo went through that."

"Oh, come on, that's just stupid," Clint said. "Hey, Natasha, I'm going ice skating on a rainbow!"

"That is not the case," Natasha spoke. "He had to have been like that for, what, less than two centuries?"

"That's another question we're trying to answer," Tony answered. "Once that guy wakes up from his little nap, I should be able to get some answers from him."

"He's not awake?" Steve asked.

Hesitant, Tony held up a small sack. "Brownie?"

"And you're confused about why he's not conscious _yet_?" Clint questioned Steve. "It took you almost a week to wake up."

"Highly true," Tony pointed at Clint as an example. "Come on. There is no way it takes him less than an hour to open his eyes."

"Would you like me to try?" Steve suggested as he strolled over to the room.

"No!" Thor protested.

Steve gaped at him.

"The atmosphere around him was not of Midgardian," Thor explained his outburst.

"Yeah," Steve said unsure before he opened the door and stepped inside.

Thor shouted once more and tackled the soldier. Clint burst out laughing as Steve struggled to get out of his grasp, while Natasha and Sam tried to pry him off.

"This is so fun to watch," Tony smirked as he stood by the bedside, his arms folded.

"C'mon, get off!" Steve shouted as he freed himself and stood up, glaring at Thor. "What is wrong with you?"

"You go near him and tell me you don't feel it," Thor snarled.

"Feel what?" Steve asked.

"Do it!" Thor shouted.

"Fine!" Steve snapped as he stormed over to the bedside. But just as he was a foot away, a nagging feeling tugged at the back of his head. He hesitated and slowly reached out at the Ranger, but a feeling tingled in his fingertips and ran up his arm. He backed his hand and tried to reach out, but the feeling was still there. Something about the Ranger was off. It looked like he was asleep, but Steve could suddenly feel some kind of energetic aura emitting from him. He pulled his hand back and took a step away.

"Well?" Thor asked.

"Okay, I'll admit there's something weird in the atmosphere around him," Steve said.

"Déjà vu."

Everyone looked at Sam.

"Hello? Him being in stone is like Steve trapped in ice," Sam exclaimed, spreading his hands out.

"Okay, so can somebody get me a blow torch?" Tony said.

"This is serious," said Steve. "Whatever the reason is, he's got some sort of force coming from him."

Tony smiled. "Oh no," he stated sarcastically. "He's bad luck, bad voodoo." He snickered, "Give us a break."

A hand suddenly grabbed his wrist tightly and Tony suddenly saw visions from a past, one that was not his. They contained rock melting, riders on horses with war cries, a woman and a boy running, a man on a horse yelling at another one to give him his hand, the slaughter of Natives, fire, a carnivorous rabbit, that animal they fought earlier, and finally a dreadful one: it flickered between a man with a disfigured mouth and the Ranger himself, wiping blood from their face.

Tony felt himself falling backwards and his arms flailing. He landed hard on his back, the air knocked out of him, causing him to breath heavily.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked as he and Bruce helped him up.

"Yeah, I think so," Tony groaned.

"What just happened?" Natasha wondered, her pistol drawn out.

"He is a spirit walker," Thor answered, causing everyone to turn to him. "An old Comanche tale. It's a being who has been to the other side and back. A man who cannot be killed only in battle."

"So he's a person who has a supernatural nature," Steve said.

"You're telling us that this is some guy who died, came back from the dead, and he can't die in battle?" Clint questioned. "Awesome."

"So, what do we do now?" Sam asked.

"First, I'm going to ask you to leave," Bruce suggested. "He'll have to wake up on his own."

* * *

Hours went by; they waited and watched, only hoping that there were good signs all through the night. They were careful to take any clothing off except for the mask to get them cleaned before putting them back on. Natasha and Clint came around late at night, hoping they could find something or some piece of information to help solve the mystery, but found nothing.

The next day, they could get a better glimpse of him. The man looked about in his twenties, had a shaven clean face and pale skin. Bruce said it must have been because of being in stone and not in sunlight for a long period of time. Now being out of stone for days, color was returning to him.

One day a small gasp escaped from his lips before exhaling softly, and then his eyes slowly opened up.

* * *

John felt his eyes flutter open and found himself staring into the warm eyes of an unfamiliar man with curly brown hair, wearing a purple dress shirt.

"Hey, you're going to be fine sir," the man said calmly.

John seemed fine, but panic suddenly filled him. Where was Tonto and Silver? What if they found out what his name was? He brought his hand up and felt the fabric of his mask on his cheekbone, relieved.

"I'm Doctor Bruce Banner, and I'm not going to hurt you. Your wounds are mildly infected from that sleep you had," Bruce informed the man, helping him prop himself up against the many pillows behind his head.

"W-Where am I?" John croaked.

"Stark Tower, or is it Avenger Tower now?" Bruce looked over his shoulder and startled, John hadn't noticed a man leaning against the doorway.

"I'm thinking of renaming it Avenger Tower. I mean all that is left of my name is 'A'," Tony mused, pushing himself off the wall, slowly walking to the bedside.

"Is that mine?" John asked, noticing the jacket on him.

Tony couldn't help grinning as he took it off. "Sorry, I have a habit with these things. How you feeling?"

"Better…I guess. When can I get out of here?" John looked around the room.

"What? You don't like my tower? I don't know if I should feel offended or not." Tony threw his hands in the air dramatically, with a smirk on his lips.

"It's not that sir…" John started.

"Tony," Tony interrupted hurriedly. "My dad was sir. Or Mr. Stark in most cases."

"Tony. I appreciate what you and Dr. Banner have done for me, but I really have to go." John started to sit up when Bruce placed his hand on his shoulder.

"You aren't healed yet, we have to keep your wounds cleaned so they don't get infected," Bruce said sternly. John shied away from the touch of the doctor.

"I'm guessing you know who I am." John sunk back into the pillows behind him.

"The Lone Ranger, the masked man who fights injustice in the Old West," Tony rattled off, tossing the man his jacket.

"Uh, thanks," John said.

"We'll be right back," Bruce grabbed Tony's wrist and pulled him out of the room, giving the man some privacy.

John blinked before he slowly tried to sit up straight. A small patch of pain spread in the small of his back, causing him to slightly grunt. He looked around the room, feeling a bit drowsy.

_What time is it?_

John couldn't find anything that told time, so he picked up the first thing he could find: a coin. It was shiny and silver, but probably not pure silver. There was an eagle on one side a man's head on the other. What really puzzled him was the year printed under the man. Why did it say 2014?

"What on earth?" John looked around to find out why that number was on that coin. He got up, pain screaming in his back. He stumbled around the room, trying to find something to answer his questions.

Something caught his eye from a chair. Newsprint. Yes! He grabbed it and looked at the date.

_What?_

His hands trembled and his body quaked, the paper slipping from his grip. That couldn't be right. It just couldn't be. He looked around and saw a clock. It was almost five.

"This can't be right," he whispered, covering his face. "This can't _be_ right."

"Pardon me, sir, but it is," a sudden voice spoke.

John jumped up, grabbing the first thing his hands could get a hold of. "Who's there?"

"Oh, forgive me, I'm Just a Rather Very Intelligent System," the voice introduced. "Also known as Jarvis, and I don't think that cloth will do any harm."

John looked down and saw his choice of weapon in his hand, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment. "Oh." He looked up. "Where are you?"

"I am wherever you are at in this tower," Jarvis explained. "Mr. Stark has programmed and installed me to be his butler."

John frowned. "What?"

"You are from an earlier time, but as the days go by, you'll understand," Jarvis pointed out.

"So, what am I suppose to do?"

"I can assist you in anything."

John perked up. "Anything?"

* * *

"This is an outrage," Natasha exclaimed as they returned to the tower. "Clint, you gotta stop asking why they couldn't attack those places."

"Oh, come on," Clint said. "How was I suppose to know that the Attica Correctional Facility would be its _next_ target?"

"You're not suppose to, you dumb birdy hawk," Tony said.

"Um, Tony, do you think it's time for them to perform a meet and greet?" Bruce spoke up.

"What?" everyone asked, turning to them.

"Oh, yes," Tony remembered. "After a very lengthy week, our dear guest is finally awake."

"Yes!" Sam's fist pumped.

"About time," Natasha said.

"How was he?" Steve asked.

"Healthy and ready to go," Bruce chuckled.

"Hmm, who does that sound like?" Natasha inquired sarcastically as he gave Tony a look, who just smiled.

"Reminds me of someone from Vanaheim," Thor stated.

"Who?" Sam wondered.

"I don't know," Thor answered. "I'm trying to remember."

"Sir?" Jarvis spoke.

"Yes, Jarvis?" Tony responded.

"I believe our guest is—how do I put this—not in the building," Jarvis informed the group.

"What?!" Tony squeaked.

"What do you mean he's not in the building?" Sam asked.

"I mean he left," Jarvis said.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Clint questioned in a squeaky voice.

"You just arrived," Jarvis said.

"Why did you let him out?" Bruce wanted to know.

"Mr. Stark said I could assist him in whatever he wishes," Jarvis deadpanned. "And that was it."

"Smartass," Tony mumbled, before something hit him. "Jarvis, how did he get out? The elevator and doors were locked."

"He politely asked me to let him out." Somehow Jarvis managed to sound bashful.

"Wow, this man sounds gentlemanly," Natasha stated.

"What about me?" Clint asked.

"Uh huh," Natasha mumbled, receiving a glare from the archer.

"That's not a good thing," Sam said.

"Of course not," Thor agreed. "That man would be in danger should anyone recognize him. Or believe him."

"You think he couldn't have gotten that far, could he?" Steve wondered as he put his jacket back on.

"Doesn't matter," Tony replied. "If that very same creature was after him, then we're all S.O.L."

"There's just one problem: Where did he go?" Clint stated.

**So, I decided to have my heart set on a semi-horror fic, like my other one. Not the gross kind like you see where someone gets their heads torn off. *shudders at _The Haunting of Hill House_* But a light-hearten one at hand with supernatural themes in it. I haven't had written a Lone Ranger story at hand, so I need to know if he's going OOC or not. Thank you.**

**Song in this chapter: Breath of Life by Florence and the Machine.**


	3. From Out of Nowhere

3. From Out of Nowhere

_Sifting to the bottom, every day for two_

_Energy funnels, all becomes you_

_You came **from out of nowhere**_

_My glance turns to a stare_

"How far do you think he could've gotten to?" Bruce asked aloud as they all boarded the quinjet.

"Out there?" Natasha spoke. "Who knows."

"Well, we gotta find him and fast," Steve acknowledged. "That thing could still be out there, lurking in the country."

"How about we sabotage it and then find him?" Tony suggested.

"Stark, we'd need to find him first before anything else can come up," Steve said.

Tony glared at him. "I know that."

* * *

He had no idea where he was, he just didn't care. He was out of that place and that bizarre city. The only problem — finding his way back to Texas. It didn't matter anymore if Tonto and Silver were gone like the wind, he just wanted to go back to a place he was familiar with.

His foot caught hold of a rock and he stumbled down a small hill. He quickly scrambled up his feet and looked back.

"You're not going to get me," he whispered before he continued on. "You're _not_ going to get me!"

* * *

As the quinjet flew over the forest, the Avengers were growing anxious.

"Any signs yet?" Steve asked.

"Not one," Natasha answered.

"We'll have to keep looking," Steve said. "Let's try looking on ground."

Thor looked stoic from where he was sitting, but Bruce could see the anxiety in his eyes. "What's wrong, buddy?" he asked.

"I do not like this," Thor whispered.

"That we found a man who can't die on the battlefield?" Bruce wondered.

"No, I meant the beast," Thor said. "It's like nothing I have seen before."

"Well, even humanity is still learning to know what Earth holds," Bruce said, leaning against the wall.

"You guys, what are we going to do once we find him?" Sam asked.

Bruce shrugged. "Hopefully it'll end well."

Thor leaned forward, his arms resting on his lap. "I do hope it will then."

"Okay, brace yourselves," Natasha announced.

Bruce looked up. "What?"

The quinjet landed roughly and most of them hit the floor. Bruce groaned in pain. He then peeked an eye open. Wasn't his heart rate speeding up?

"Let's go," Tony said as he opened the hatch and they all piled out.

Thor turned around and found Natasha sitting there. "Are you not coming?" he asked her.

"No, Natasha never liked the forest since that thing attacked us," Clint responded.

"Shut up, Clint," Natasha said as he laughed and exit out of the quinjet. Realizing she was alone, Natasha said, "Well, if everyone else is leaving..." She got up and went outside.

Right as a shockwave collided into them, causing the power in the jet to go out.

"What?"

"What happened?" Sam panicked.

"Don't worry, this happened before," Tony said.

"So you know how to fix it?" Steve asked.

"Yep. Kill that flying bastard," Clint replied.

* * *

They had managed to find a rest stop not far from where they were. Bruce called the nearest vehicular department and spoke on the phone. Putting a hand over it, he turned to the others and said, "Okay. Someone can pick us up."

"Great!" Natasha exclaimed.

"Yeah, what town are we near?" Bruce asked.

"Freemont," Sam guessed. "Westmont, ah I don't know."

"Then why are you answering?" Clint wondered.

"Do _I_ have to answer about where we are?" Thor asked.

"No," said Clint.

"Oh, thank Yggdrasil," Thor sighed in relief.

"Okay, is there anyone who is not Asgardian that knows where we are?" Bruce asked.

"Can you ask them the nearest roads from New York in the southwest?" Natasha requested.

Bruce did. "Either Seventy-six or Ninety-three."

"Here, let me try," Sam said as he took the phone. "Hey, can you send somebody up and down Seventy-six and check every rest stop, and also Ninety-three?...Okay!" He hung up. "Yeah, they don't do that."

"Ugh, well, somebody will come and save us eventually," Natasha groaned in frustration.

"Who?" Bruce asked. "I mean have you seen a car come by here in the last hour and a half? We should just call Fury. Maybe he can have someone come pick us up."

No answer came from the assassins.

"I think we should just live here," Clint finally answered.

"But if..." Sam started.

"No, we are not going to get into trouble because of this and I am keeping a promise for _once_, so you'll have to think of something else," Natasha said.

"Oh good, Steven and Tony are back," Thor announced.

Steve walked up to them, helping Tony as he was gasping for air.

"What happened?" Bruce asked.

"Well, Ol' Smokey Joe here got halfway to the highway and collapsed," Steve answered, patting Tony on the back.

"I have the lung capacity of a two year old," Tony gasped.

"I can't imagine why," Natasha said, receiving a glare from Tony.

* * *

No one knew how long they had been out there or what, but once they headed back for the quinjet, they were exhausted. They would have to figure out how to get the power back on, but not before Sam stopped and grabbed Thor before pointing ahead.

The quinjet was torn open like a soup can, with the lights flickering dimly. A gangly figure rose over the wreckage, obscured by the shadows. The monster they had fought a week ago pulled something out of the interior, sparks shooting out after it. It tossed it to the side and ducked back down inside to search for more.

"Our quinjet," Clint whispered in horror.

Pulling out a pad from his jacket, Tony spoke into it softly, "Jarvis, run through every file there is and see if you can find one on this."

"Yes, sir," Jarvis answered as they watched the monster dig around inside.

Sam got down and picked up every branch he caught get. He quickly rearranged them into one words: SOS.

The silence in the forest was broken by a twig being snapped. The creature looked up before turning to them and letting out a guttural roar.

"We've been compromised!" Natasha said.

Steve threw his shield at its torso. It bounced off of the rock hard carapace and next to a tree. With an annoyed hiss, it reared its forelimb back and swept it at them. Natasha fired several times at it but to no avail. Clint shot two arrows into its shoulder, both armed with explosives in the arrowheads. With a click of the device on his wrist, the arrows exploded. Chunks of bony carapace and blood burst from its shoulder. Enraged, it looked at Clint and prepared to snap at him but was interrupted when Tony threw a rock at its head. The beast had been caught off guard before its bony ridges narrowed in annoyance. It snarled at Tony and snapped at him, missing when Thor threw his hammer at its head before retrieving it. Slowly, the beast turned to him, an angry snarl visible on its face. With a mighty screech, it slammed a forelimb into the quinjet, unaware of a gas leak.

An explosion, followed by enormous bursts of orange fire erupted from the quinjet, with the heat setting fire to some of the dead grass and trees around it. Smoke billowed out over the area, obscuring any and all sight. Clint and Natasha held their arms in front of their mouths. Tony rose to his feet, knocked clean to the ground from the explosion. He could see nothing through the smoke. Tony heard the rustling of bushes and saw Sam emerge from the smoke. He reached out for him and helped him up.

"Come on, kiddo!" he said, covering his mouth. Tony squinted and peered through the thick and black smoke, looking for the monster and the others.

"Target lost!" Steve shouted, looking all around for the monster.

"How do you lose a giant animal?" Sam asked.

"Where did it go?" Clint asked.

"Looking," Tony said, pulling up a holographic display of the area on his pad. Eight markers were on the holographic map. "To the left! Repeat, to the—"

Just then, a ninth marker appeared on the map. It was coming from the right side, towards them.

"Who's that?" Sam asked.

"Uh, Clint, Natasha?" Tony asked. "Do you have anyone coming?"

"You mean aside from Fury and any others?" Natasha asked.

"Yeah," Tony said.

"If we did, they picked a hell of a time to show up," Clint replied.

From his hiding spot, Bruce looked up. "Tony?"

"We got company," was his reply.

"I can't hulk out."

Tony stopped and looked around for him. "What? What do you mean you can't get the other guy here?"

"I mean I'm not the big, green, killing machine you know," Bruce clarified.

"Well, that's a major problem," Sam said.

"Sir, I have the data on the beast," Jarvis spoke.

"What the hell took you so long?" Tony demanded.

"You try hacking into SHIELD's programming," Jarvis shot back.

"Okay, what is it?"

"I believe they called it the Kurai."

"...Why?"

"It's Japanese for silver, sir, and it feeds off of it."

"Again, _why_?"

"I'm still trying to find that out sir, sir."

The Kurai ignored the shots from Natasha and approached the unconscious Thor. It lowered its head and peered down, mandibles flared. Drool was hanging inside its mouth like cobwebs. With incredible speed, it lunged forward and grabbed him with the small arms that were tucked in. It's eyes glowed blue before it dropped Thor. Steve slammed his shield into its side as hard as he could. Angry, the Kurai turned to Steve and roared, charging towards him. Clint raised his bow and fired the arrow, resulting an explosion. The Kurai shrieked and swung a forelimb towards Steve, ducking and dodging its every move.

Thor groaned as he slowly supported himself and brushed the dirt off of him. He looked up and saw the Kurai fighting the others. He scrambled to his feet and spun his hammer around before he held it up into the air.

Nothing.

"What?" He tried it again and still nothing happened. "Come on, not again."

Bruce managed to poke around the wreckage and found a crowbar. "Thor, we might need the thunder now."

"I'm a little busy," Thor said as he tried to summon the lightning.

"Oh, no, you too?"

Thor gaped at him. "What do you mean by 'you too?'"

"I can't get the other guy out when I get angry," Bruce said.

Thor groaned in frustration.

"Hey, ugly, over here!" Sam shouted.

The Kurai turned to them, its mouth curled in a snarl

Tony caught sight of Steve. The soldier ran over and stood next to him.

"Well, see you on the other side," Steve said to Tony.

"Just as long as you will," Tony replied. Bruce held the crowbar tightly in his hands. Mjolnir hung powerless in Thor's hand. Steve held his shield before him, the star in the center shining brightly. Natasha primed her gun, Clint aimed an arrow. Tony scanning the Kurai for any weak parts on its body, Sam on the defense...

A loud banging noise forced them to drop down. The Kurai staggered back, startled at the sight before it. It spread its wings and took off as fast as it could.

"It's getting away," Sam shouted, standing up with the others.

"Jarvis," Tony whispered. "What was that?"

"A gunshot from behind, sir."

Everyone looked around to find a familiar masked figure, his hand that held the revolver lowering as he gazed at them.

"Hey, it's the Lone Ranger!" Bruce cried out joyfully.

"Hey!" Tony and Steve greeted as they waved at him.

"What is he doing here?!" Natasha demanded. Everyone turned and stared at her. "What? It's us who usually finds them and then has to save them, not the other way around."

"_He_ just saved _your_ life," the man retorted. "Unless of course I'm stepping on some toes here, in which case there's really no reason to stick around, I believe I have somewhere else to be right at the moment now."

"No!" the Avengers yelled as Tony ran up to him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" he said.

Sam looked down. "Hey, my sign's still here."

Clint peered down and felt his eyes bulge out. "What?! How's that possible?"

Tony blinked before he grinned at the Ranger. "So, how's life?"

The man glared at him.

"Really, Tony, can you _be_ any more dumb?" Natasha asked.

Tony glared at her. "Do you have any other suggestions?"

"If you think I can get him to talk just by batting my eyelashes..."

The Ranger slowly backed away. "What do you want of me?"

"You are the spirit walker," Thor said as he stepped to the side. "That thing is a silver eater. It was near you when you were in sleep."

The Ranger's mouth was opening and closing, but no words came out. "How...how does he..."

"Um, let's save that for later," Tony said. "You look like you haven't eaten a thing in, like, forever."

The Ranger's eyes grew dark.

"Oh, no, no, no," Steve mumbled

"That wasn't wise," Bruce moaned.

"Oh, I can't watch this," Sam said.

The Ranger shook his head. "You know what? I can't stick around you. This is just...I gotta go."

"Where?" Natasha asked.

"Anywhere but here," was the answer.

"You do realize that a great amount has changed?" Bruce persuaded. "Right?"

The Ranger stopped, freezing in his tracks.

"Why don't you tell him that you know what it feels like?" Sam whispered to Steve.

However, the man caught the words and turned back to them. "Wait, who does?"

Steve hesitated before he stepped out of the group. "I do. I know how you feel. But the only problem is that I have been in ice for seventy years."

"See?" Tony pointed out. "Pretty sure you're not the only one."

"Sir," Natasha spoke. "I think it's time to take the mask off."

Suddenly their savior seemed surprised. "What? Why?"

Everyone looked for an answer.

"Because," Thor finally said looking down, "having it on puts you in real danger should it find you with it."

The masked man didn't do anything as he looked down. Tony heard him mumble something.

"Sorry, what?" Tony asked, cautious in case.

"John," the man whispered. Then with shaking hands, he reached up and undid the cloth that masqueraded him, his head still down. He pulled it away from his face. Then he looked up at them.

Natasha leaned a little more. For a guy with wide eyes, he sure was hot in her opinion! Clint knew it, too.

"Natasha!" he exclaimed, forcing her back up.

"Well," Tony said with a smile as he grabbed John's hand and shook it, "welcome to the twenty-first century. I'm Tony Stark. You've already known Clint, Sam, Steve, Natasha..."

Sam yelled as they walked through his sign.

"So let me get this straight — the attack of the flying mutant couldn't destroy the sign, but _that_ can?" Clint wondered.

Sam glared at him.

"I mean, oh no, now it's not gonna make any sense," Clint grieved sarcastically.

"You're hopeless," Sam said as he threw his arms up.

"Uh, this is Bruce and that is Thor," Tony finished.

They greeted him.

"Uh, sorry about your ride," John said.

"You saw the explosion, eh?" Sam said.

"Yeah, it's a shame that the thing wasn't shot clearly," John said.

"Well, you missed it by a sliver," Natasha said.

Clint suddenly burst out laughing and everyone stared at him.

"He _has _a gun!" Clint exclaimed.

**Song in this chapter: From Out of Nowhere by Five Finger Death Punch**


End file.
